What is the poverty line?
The government definition of poverty is lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; having insufficient income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health.
The U.S. Census Bureau annually sets "poverty thresholds" for numerous family types and situations, based on income and the consumer price index; this defines who is and isn't living in poverty and is largely a statistical yardstick. The threshold does not account for geographic variations.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets simplified "poverty guidelines," which are used for administrative purposes -- like eligibility for government benefits.
Poverty line as a function of family size in Clark County, 2014 guidelines
1 person: $11,490
2 people: 15,510
3 people: 19,530
4 people: 23,550
5 people: 27,570
6 people: 31,590
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Grants spread to multiple local agencies
The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington recently won a $700,000 Gates Foundation grant across four years in an innovative effort to interrupt the cycle of "intergenerational poverty" and reorient young people and families toward success. The Community Foundation also bundled its own discretionary funds into larger-than-usual chunks and granted it to local organizations working on the same problem.
The first round of grantees in this initiative:
o Support for Early Learning and Families (SELF): $119,000 from the Gates Foundation for planning a comprehensive Clark County strategy to attack intergenerational poverty.
o Lower Columbia College Head Start, Cowlitz County: $29,000 from Gates for direct early childhood education.
o Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools: $27,500 for family resource centers at 11 schools.
o Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest: $25,000 for high school dropout prevention.
o Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington: $25,000 for programs at Fruit Valley and Washington elementary schools.
o Children's Center: $25,000 for mental health case manager at Mountain View High School.
o Partners in Careers: $25,000 for employment training for high school seniors.
o Share Vancouver: $25,000 for hunger response programs.
o Sea Mar Community Health Center: $21,000 for infant case management for at-risk families.
o Second Step Housing: $23,723 for Nurturing Parent Program for at-risk families.
o Bridgeview Housing (Vancouver Housing Authority): $11,300 for early education advocacy for children in subsidized housing.
The total is $356,000 -- so far. Jennifer Rhoads, president of the Community Foundation, said the agency is just tearing into grant applications for the second round.
"We are talking about long-term systems change," Rhoads said. "We're not going to disrupt the cycle of poverty immediately. We may not have measurable results for years. The Gates people, they're patient."